


Raphael's fall

by Xxxpokelad



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-07-23 23:34:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20016610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xxxpokelad/pseuds/Xxxpokelad
Summary: this is the story of how Aziraphael and Crowley came to life: from Raphael.





	Raphael's fall

At the beginning they were one. They were created by God as the Archangel Raphael. According to the Babylonian Talmud, Raphael is identified as one of the three angels that appeared to Abraham, together with Michael, the greatest, and Gabriel. He was sent to Earth to heal Abraham. He was the archangel responsible for physical and emotional healing. He was usually seen carrying a flask, sometimes a trumpet. He had the whitest best-groomed wings, snowy hair and a soft, nasal type of voice. He was beloved both by God and her Angels. That is, until he fell. At the beginning, Raphael had no doubt whatsoever regarding his duties and responsibilities. He never questioned an order, never hesitated to carry out a task. In one reductive word, Raphael was loyal to Heaven and to God. He used to stay by himself in the old days. He got along with his brothers just fine, but never actually… had a long conversation with them. He felt like he didn’t fit in. He knew it was all in his head, because his mother created them to be a team. More like an army maybe, but still, he still couldn’t connect with them. He tried and tried and tried. One night, Raphael decided to spend some time with a very elite group of angels: Lucifer, Beelzebub, Asmodeus and some of their followers. They discussed all sots of things, including the rumours about God’s newest creation: man. Lucifer said he would never love anything more than God. Beelzebub, Hastur and Ligur agreed immediately, probably because of a mixture of respect and fear. That made Raphael doubtful and hesitant: should he follow Lucifer’s example? Refuse to worship the humans more than Her? Should he question Her orders? The answer never came. The universe was new, hot and shiny. The earth was a burning pile of goo back then. Raphael still felt like he admired everything there was. He helped build a couple of nebulas, a star system, and enjoyed the view from Heaven. But did he love the universe more than God? Or did he not love Her enough? Lucifer was already pretty good at tempting people, something that would come useful in the future. Raphael spent a great deal of time thinking it over, but could not make up his mind, therefore he decided to contact the Metatron to ask for God’s advice. How does one speak to God? Stubbornness and sheer luck usually do the trick. Raphael had both. However, he still couldn’t reach Her. The Higher Authorities remained silent. Anxious, Raphael pondered on what to do. He decided to go back to Lucifer: he created that mess, he was going to help him solve it. But then… something happened. There was chaos. The epicentre appeared to be Lucifer and his followers, who called themselves ‘Demons’, which apparently meant something like ‘to divide or distribute’. Lucifer made up that word, and was very proud of it. Anyway, they were causing quite a commotion. Lucifer and Beelzebub were arguing with someone about the humans. They were repeating the same thing they always said about ‘not loving them more than God, they will be corrupt’ and suchlike. The other angel did not like what they were hearing. Except it wasn’t an angel at all. It was God. Usually She emanates warmth, peace and serenity. She doesn’t have a physical form, She appears as a source of infinite white light. Being in Her presence was a blessing, something only a few archangels, Raphael and Lucifer included, were able to pride themselves of. Not this time, however. In that particular instance, God radiated fear, anger. It was uncanny and unprecedented. something that doesn’t happen every day, that never happened again. All the ‘demons’ looked terrified, except for Lucifer. There was a shift in light: Her light wasn’t white anymore. It was darkening. In a couple of seconds, it turned as black as the thickest smoke, with flashes of lightning. The first thunderstorm. The lightning bolts hit the rebelling angels and all the angels that had doubts or even slightly agreed with Lucifer. That included Raphael. One moment he was safe and whole, the next half of him was falling and falling, a million-light-year freestyle dive into a pool of boiling sulphur, with eyes becoming yellow and snake-like. The other was in Heaven, with perfectly trimmed hoary hair. God had literally split Raphael in two. Crowley the demon and Aziraphael the angel. They are the literal two halves of the same whole searching for each other, through time and space, trying to feel complete again. Always orbiting around each other, experiencing a connection like any other.


End file.
